The Day Before Spring

Mufti
Left at intermish.


This was a minimally staged, script-in-hand performance of a previously "lost" musical written very early in Lerner and Lowe's careers. This was perfect for those hardcore Lerner and Loewe fans who have a special interest in mapping the artistic evolution of these old school collaborators. Unfortunately, I am not one of those types of fans and I think perhaps Mufti may have reached too deep into that old dusty trunk as they retrieved a forgettably forgettable score. Sometimes musicals are lost for a reason.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

****1/2

Broadway

The unfortunate inevitability of most long-runs on Broadway is that with new actors migrating in and out it becomes a crap shoot from role to role as to whether or not we're going to get a character as three dimensional and unique as we did with the carefully selected original cast. Sometimes we do and sometimes we don't and this production of Spelling Bee, now it its 3rd year, is no different. The good news is that here it just didn't seem to matter as much. This book and score are just so unabashedly charming and joyful that in spite of the forgivable loss of a little bit of nuance and clarity of character, I still found myself laughing hysterically at, and emotionally investing in, the aspirations of these needy little spellers. I always cry like a stupid fucking baby during "The I Love You Song" and at this performance I reacted no different. Take your mom to this show, she'll love it.

Blueprint

If you've been reading this blog you probably know by now that the Summer Play Festival puts on works in development, and that the productions are not open for formal review. Fair enough, I say, since tickets are only ten bucks. However, I don't see a reason not to say that in this one, Peter Strauss is giving a rich and altogether remarkable performance that achieves its power with restraint and understatement. The play has other merits, but even if it didn't, his performance (as a professor of architecture who lets down his emotional guard with a female student who idolizes him) would still make it well worth seeing.

EAST TO EDINBURGH: The Nina Variations

I love Steven Dietz's concept of trimming Chekhov's The Seagull so that the only story is that of Konstantin Gavrilovich Treplev's love for Nina, and I like Douglas Rome's staging of the work, with a computer counting up through the 42 different scenes they've created as the ensemble (11 Ninas and 4 Treplevs) either sit facing the back wall, or glide in and out of center stage. I don't think it's fair to criticize high school students, but the performance of the piece itself is where The Nina Variations falters most. Chekhov is extremely difficult, and as a result, the show is at best a marvelous invitation to watch an ensemble doing a very specific set of scene-study exercises. However, because all the actors end up resembling each other very much, and because the scenes aren't variations so much as different scenes, there's a lack of risk in the 42 "moments" that become stifling and, to be honest, boring: it is, as Nina says, "Words alone," and the few finely accented moments (#7 delves into subtext, #40 is an freshly minted monologue by Kostya after his suicide). There's no doubt that all involved have a love for Chekhov, but they ought to listen to what they're actually saying: "Form is not the important thing . . . Soul is."

Commedia Dell' Artemisia

Photo/Joseph Belschner

That rape could be funny, not tragic, who knew? The producers and writers of Stolen Chair, that's who. With swagger and grace and a man who's ribald, the show woos us and flatters us, we're never appalled. Commedia Dell' Artemisia, what a wonderful name; if only bringing back classical comedy alone brought one fame. But I'll drop the old rhymes now (they're far better than me), as I must stress the point that this show's a must see. (Besides, it's not as easy to rhyme David Bengali's name as you'd think, nor Cameron J. Oro's, Layna Fisher's, or Liza Wade White's, all of whom are well worth mentioning.)

The only sad part about Commedia Dell' Artemisia is that it's condensed to stay under an hour, which means there's no romance and no real comeuppance. The climax simply dissolves into a bawdy song with a hasty conclusion: I say, if you've got it, flaunt it, and there's no reason the Stolen Chair Theatre Company can't turn this one-act into an even bigger crowd pleaser.

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33 To Nothing

***1/2

The Wild Project

The conundrum of this play with rock music is do you cast musicians who can act? Or actors who can play instruments? Those who are equally adept at both crafts would be ideal however in this production it seems clear that we have amazing musicians who can pretty much act (some better than others). Taking place in a rehearsal studio we follow the story of an over-the-hill rock band falling apart. During the stretches of dialogue, most of the band members politely stood and waited for their line, delivered it, and then returned to politely waiting for their next line. During the musical numbers this production was jolted alive and SOARED. I LOVED the songs and the vocals and guitar-work were KICK ASS. For that reason I am very happy I went to this production.

P.S. I've never been to The Wild Project in the East Village. Very cool, well designed space!

Also blogged by [Patrick] and [Aaron]